AT&T has officially announced Randall Stephenson taking over as Chairman and CEO. (NYSE: T)
Hey Randall.
Congratulations on your new gig as head honcho at the new AT&T. Seriously.
As you begin to settle in, here’s some suggestions and initiatives I would like to recommend in the context of your three-screens strategy.
1. Make these blogs part of your daily reading.
- Tom Evslin's Fractals of Change blog
- Om Malik's blog and his affiliate blog: NewTeeVee
- Dave Burstein's DSL Prime Blog
- This blog- 3Screens.net
2. Buy and read Shelly Palmer’s book: Television Disrupted.
You may buy it on Amazon here. Then make it required reading for all of your U-verse senior management.
3. Explore doing a joint venture with Clear Channel Communications.
I don’ know what it would be, but I think there is an opportunity to create a whole new business if AT&T and Clear Channel sat down and looked at creating a new type of social media enterprise.
Take a bit of TV, Web, Radio, Outdoor, Entertainment.
Mix it up in San Antonio and surely something will come out of the discussion.
Actually, my office is located half-way between your corporate headquarters and theirs. We can all sign NDA’s, use my conference room and figure it out.
4. Empower your U-verse installers to do more than just an install.
Your installers are great. The ones who’ve been to our home do the set up, installation, sync the remotes and spent time showing us how to use the system.
But wait.
There’s more.
Allocate an additional 10 minutes to brief the customer (or ideally the family) on the benefits of going over to their local AT&T store so they can do an evaluation of the customer (or family’s) communications needs.
Maybe the customer would upgrade to a new service. Learn about a new feature they did not know they had on the wireless device. Expand their family plan.
Your installers are the best front-line you have to getting your customers to become more engaged with the power of your retail distribution network.
5. Develop workshops on social media and community building at your stores.
With the power and integration of broadband and wireless on three-screens, we’re empowered with the ability to apply and create new forms of social media and community building. This can be for a family, a church group, a school, or a small business.
Take a clue from the Apple retail stores with the Apple Camps.
6. Put AT&T Labs on the road at select AT&T Experience stores
Do more with AT&T Experience stores than just selling products and services.
Create a Discovery Channel like road show that shows your brains and IP.
Take it public and get schools, educators and children across America to start seeing the potential for new ground breaking technologies you are working on.
Hold a contest to get kids to submit their ideas on how they could apply new telecom technologies in their future.
When journalists, analysts and financial watchers ask me what I think AT&T’s single greatest competitive advantage is, my response is pretty simple: “their retail footprint.
Other than Verizon, you guys have a very unique piece of real estate across America that cant be replicated, even with the cable guys putting together their joint deals with other wireless providers.
7. Address New Three Screen Applications for Microsoft’s Surface Computing platform
Maybe you’re already on this, but it sure seems to me that there’s got to be some very compelling applications for our TV, PC and wireless devices that you could encourage your hardware partners and providers to develop -- and new way to create and view broadcast media on Microsoft’s recently announced Surface Computing platform.
You already work with Microsoft’s IPTV group, who is the provider of your middleware. Expand your relationship with Microsoft to include the Surface Computing group as well.
8. Attend PodCamp.
No, I am not kidding.
Make your own videos.
Learn how to self broadcast.
Do it on your network.
9. Come with me to Israel and let me show you some of the most advanced, off-the-radar IP, networking, security and wireless communications technologies on the planet.
Sure, I'm a bit biased towards Israeli technology because of my day job, but if you came during VON Israel in October, we could could combine VON with private meetings as well.
10. Come over one Saturday to hang out and talk bidness (for those of you who don’t live in Texas, that’s business in Texan).
We’re virtually neighbors. Here’s a proposed agenda:
8:00 AM - Breakfast at our editorial headquarters at The Olmos Soda Fountain. It’s half way between your crib and mine. My treat.
9:00 AM - Visit to the Weinkrantz family home.
10:00 AM - Depart for mystery shopping trip to various AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-mobile stores.
12:00 noon - Lunch at The Olmos Soda Fountain. To keep things fair, you treat.
1:00 PM Head out to Apple LaCantera and continue mystery shopping.
3:30 PM Head on back to my house with stops at Best Buy, Bjorn’s and maybe a quick milk-shake (or Diet Coke) at The Olmos Soda Fountain.
5:00 PM Hang out at my house and see My World Delivered.
No, it’s not a soap opera.
It’s a real house with AT&T wireline, wireless, cellular, U-verse in HD, home theatre, media room and much more. We’ve got IPTV, IM, VoD, VoIP, and much more.
6:00 PM - Dinner
I’ll grill steaks from Central Market. (my treat)
I’ve got a few more ideas milling around, but for now, these are just a few things that are rambling in my head.
I’ve just started my 2nd year as a U-verse customer, so maybe I am ahead of the curve. Regardless, I am excited about the prospects of leveraging your network.
Best Regards,
Alan Weinkrantz
210-820-3075
alan at weinkrantz dot com
